Veggie Fact of the Day

New Veggie #64

Scallions, or Cebollitas, are a staple in Mexican Asado dishes - i.e. traditional wood-charcoal grilled meats and veggies. Along with Nopales (prickley pear), whole scallions are often sprinkled with salt and grilled until they begin to char. The whole bulb is then topped with lime juice and serves a an excellent sweet and savory accompaniment to all kinds of Asado. Also known as Green onions, or spring onions, cebollitas are the edible bulbs of plants of the Allium family - a milder cousin of the onion. Diced scallions are used raw (in salads and salsas) and may be cooked into soups such as Pho, Stir-Frys and other Asian dishes. Cebollitas re mostly water, with a medium cebollita about 4 inches) containing only about 5 calories. They contain no fat, little protein and very few carbohydrates, mostly in the form of fiber. What scallions do have are whopping amounts of vitamins A, B9, C and K. Cebollitas are in fact one of the richest sources of Vitamin K with a 100g serving providing as much as 172% of the RDA. Cebollitas also contain good portions of calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese.